1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to communications networks. More particularly, and not by way of any limitation, the present invention is directed to system and method for controlling boot-up process in a communications network entity such as an Ethernet node.
2. Description of Related Art
When a communications network entity such as an Ethernet node (e.g., an Ethernet switch/router) is set in a reboot state, its link port hardware may exhibit certain voltage levels on the links associated therewith that may be sensed by other network entities connected to the Ethernet node as being indicative of operational links, while the system software of the Ethernet node is still undergoing initialization and configuration. Accordingly, the other network entities including remote devices may continue to transmit data traffic towards the Ethernet node that is undergoing boot-up. It is known that such a boot-up behavior can cause numerous network problems. For instance, a remote device being serviced by the Ethernet node may start sending the network traffic on a port interface that has not been properly processed, thereby potentially resulting in lost traffic. Also, based on the detection of a false operational condition of a switch port, a change in the network topology may be sensed, although the change is erroneous in fact. This situation may cause higher convergence times with respect to the switching and routing protocols operating in the network. Similar network problems are also known to exist even where redundant interfaces are available for the ports that are newly coming up in a booting process. Additionally, where advanced techniques such as load balancing or link aggregation are implemented, the potential for further complications in the network increases significantly.